Disclaimer: Dark Angel and its characters do not belong to me, but the plot is mine. This fan-fiction had been written purely for entertainment purposes. No infringement was intended and no profit had been made out of this.

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, guys. I really appreciate it! For once, I managed to keep to my timetable and update this chapter, lol! It's another long chapter, so enjoy!

Irresistible Rivals - Chapter 17

(by elle6778)

Darkness swirled around him. He felt empty inside, yet it was as if there was something out there. Something just out of his reach. He strained forward, wanting to find that something which eluded him. But it kept evading him.

494's eyes snapped open. He blinked at the grey blockwork wall facing him. His mind felt fuzzy and there was a metallic taste in his mouth.

Groaning, he turned over onto his back. Then he stretched, but something dug into the side of his ankle.

He frowned. What on earth?

Sitting up, he pulled his left leg closer and reached between his boots and socks. With his fingers, he pulled out a metallic object.

It was a voice recorder.

That was strange, 494 thought curiously as he turned it around in his hand. His frown deepened as he spotted a diagonal scratch at the corner. It seemed oddly familiar to him. But he had no recollection of stuffing it in his boots.

A sharp shrill sound pierced the air, telling him that it was time to head to the mess hall for breakfast.

He glanced down again at the voice recorder.

Then, with a shrug, he slid it under the mattress and left his cell.

"Max! Hey, Max!"

Max rolled her eyes and spun around to see Zane rushing towards her.

"What, Zane? Do you have to shout? I'm can hear you just fine," she snapped as Zane skidded to a halt beside her.

Zane quirked his eyebrow. "What's wrong with you? You're either bitchy like this, or you have that zombie look plastered all over your face these days."

"What are you talking about?"

"You've been zoning out so often these few days that I'm beginning to wonder if you're actually here," he pointed out.

Max glared at him. "You're making that up."

Grinning, Zane elbowed her in the ribs, ignoring her gasp of outrage. "So, been thinking about stuff, huh?"

She bristled. "I don't know what you're talking about," she gritted out, knowing fully well that Zane was talking about Alec. The word had spread that she had jumped him in her heat and her siblings had shown no mercy in teasing her about fraternising with the enemy.

So much for keeping things to yourself, Tinga, Max thought sourly. Tinga had prodded her about her wounds until she finally caved and told her sister what happened, leaving out the part about Alec and Manticore. Although they did not know the full story, they had found it amusing.

Well, all except Seth, she amended.

It seemed that like her, Seth was being tight-lipped about Alec's affiliation with Manticore. Otherwise their siblings would be asking more questions rather than just teasing her.

Zane's grin grew to mammoth proportions. "Hey, relationships are like that, you know."

Max frowned in confusion. Relationship? She stared at him blankly. What was he going on about? There was no way anyone could describe the thing between her and Alec as a relationship.

At her expression, Zane sobered up. Laying a hand on her shoulders, he said in a reassuring voice, "Hey, you and Seth will work it out sooner or later."

"Seth?" she parroted dumbly.

Then her expression cleared as his words sank in. Oh, Seth! Zane was talking about Seth, not Alec. Of course he was talking about Seth. Why should he be talking about Alec and relationship in the same sentence anyway, Max thought, annoyed at herself.

Zane squinted at her suspiciously. "Yeah, Seth. Who else could I be talking about?"

"Hmm…" she mumbled noncommittally, hoping that he would drop the subject.

His eyes widened suddenly. And then he broke out in a grin. "You thought I was talking about Alec didn't you?"

Max fisted her hands and glowered at Zane. "Do you need a reminder of what happened two days ago?" she asked threateningly.

His eyes widening in alarm, he stepped back from her, holding his hands up. "Whoa! I'm just kidding around." He rubbed his cheek, obviously remembering the bruise she had given him the day she left the infirmary.

Sighing in exasperation, Max asked, "Don't you have anything better to do?" Her eyes narrowed mischievously before she added, "Like chase Jondy around maybe?"

Tensing visibly, Zane glared back at her. "Not funny, Max."

Max shrugged. "Well, you're the one who started it first. It's payback time."

His eyes bulged in disbelief. "How old are you? Three?"

Max grinned.

Giving her a disgusted look, Zane muttered, "Anyway, I'm here to drag you to the labs."

Her eyes widened. "They completed the analysis of the prototype?"

Zane nodded enthusiastically. "They're going to run the test now."

Max started walking in the direction she came from. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

494 sighed in relief as he lowered himself onto the bed. The training today had been intense and for some reason, the drill sergeant seemed to be paying him an unusually high amount of attention today.

He stretched and turned around in his bunk just to find something sticking into his ribs. With a frown, he sat up. And then he remembered the recorder he had shoved under the mattress earlier.

Bending down, he slipped his hand between the frame and the mattress, pulling out the recorder.

He stared at it curiously, wondering why it had been stashed in his shoe in the first place. Finding the play button, he selected the most recent track.

A voice filtered into the small space.

He sucked in a sharp breath. It was his voice. What was going on? He did not remember recording anything. Quickly, he lowered the volume so that no one outside could hear it.

As he continued to listen, he noticed that he was speaking quickly, seemingly in a rush. Initially, the word did not mean anything to him. And then, all of a sudden, flashes of images began to appear.

'…first met at Davies's mansion. She was with a partner, presumably from Unitech as well…'

The scent of citrus and flowers suddenly came to mind, so clear that he could almost smell it. Max.

'…Max was undercover as a waitress during my assignment to track down Ivanov…'

Max kneeling in front of him in the club, scrubbing his pants furiously with a disintegrating wad of napkins. His fury and embarrassment at his inability to stop her was tangible, like a sour taste in his mouth, intermingling with his inability to tear his eyes away from her curves in that ridiculously exposing black outfit.

'…track her to his mansion and saw Seth, who turned out to be 354…'

Her argument with Seth outside Ivanov's mansion, followed by her storming off without her boyfriend.

'…unfortunate luck of getting caught, blowing our cover, but managed to escape. I was later rendered unconscious by Seth before I could get the watch from Max…'

Her body pressed against him in the narrow duct, her curves moulded tight against him, making him think of things that he should not even comtemplate.

'…heat confirmed that she could only be a transgenic…'

His body pressed against her, his mouth devouring her generous lips like he could not get enough of her. Her legs wrapped tight around his hips, grinding hard against his growing arousal.

'…453. That was what Seth told me, but Renfro claimed that 453 had called her from outside Seattle. So, someone had to be lying. And I will find out what is going on.'

He stared at the wall with a frozen expression, barely noticing that the track has ended. He remembered everything now. Every little minor detail of the mission.

And he had a name.

Alec.

He looked down at the recorder, wondering what else it contained. Pressing a button, the display lit up, and the digits showed him that the disc contained few other tracks. He hit the button to bring him to the previous recording.

A tinkling sound came out.

A piano, he realised with a small frown as he continued to listen.

The song. It sounded so familiar. Why?

A voice interrupted the song. 'You have to pause longer at the end of that bar.'

He had no recollection of making this recording but somehow, he was not surprised to hear that it was his own voice. But he was surprised to hear the music.

A girl laughed. 'Okay. But stop recording this. It's making me nervous.'

Her voice.

'I want you to hear what you're playing. Then you'll see what I mean,' his recorded voice told her.

The image of an innocent, guileless smile appeared in his mind. The image radiated outwards until he could see the smooth, fair face framed by wavy dark hair.

Rachel.

Rachel laughing as she ran into the room, happy to see him.

Rachel at the piano, playing the song she swore she had practiced prior to the piano lessons.

Rachel tilting her head up as their lips met in a kiss.

His face twisted in confusion, he closed his eyes as the images came faster and faster.

He was prepared for it. His orders were clear. Berrisford needed to be taken care of. There was no time for personal feelings. No time to doubt his orders.

The man stood before him, his eyes wide in fear.

"What's the meaning of this, Simon?" Robert Berrisford asked shakily, backing away towards the door.

"It'll be over soon," he said calmly. Raising his arm, he cocked the gun in preparation to deliver the shot.

He should not have defused the bomb he himself had planted in Berrisford's car, he berated himself. But Rachel's action had forced him to. Rachel had intended to follow her father that morning. He did not want her hurt. The bomb was meant for her father, not her. She was not part of the mission. She was innocent.

Not to mention that there was something about her that made him feel things he had never felt before. But he did not know what it was but it scared him. It made him question…things…like his orders.

He gave himself a mental shake. This will be over soon, he reassured himself. And once this was over, there would be no more hesitating. No more feeling torn.

No more feeling at all.

The old man quaked, his eyes watching the gun nervously. "Who are you? Who sent you?"

"That is not important," he told Berrisford.

He had a job to do and he will do it. No more hesitating. No more thinking about the accusation in her eyes if she found out that he was the one who killed her father.

"No! Please don't! I can't die…" Berrisford begged in a broken voice, staggering back against his mahogany desk.

He steeled himself and aimed.

Just as he pulled the trigger, a figure streaked in front of him between Berrisford and the bullet.

Muted by the silencer, the bullet impacted with only a soft thud.

His eyes widened. No, he mouthed wordlessly as Rachel slumped over her father and went still. A bullet wound was visible at the back of her head.

"Rachel!" Berrisford cried out hysterically as he sank to his knees. "No! Please, Rachel!"

He had shot her.

He had shot Rachel.

The innocent, happy Rachel.

"Rachel…" he whispered disbelievingly, a look of horror gracing his features. The hand holding his gun shook, and he had to forcefully steady it.

Cradling Rachel in his arms, Berrisford gave Alec an accusing look. "You monster!" His voice cracked. "You KILLED my baby!"

Alec swallowed hard, his numb body rooted to the spot.

Berrisford's eyes were moist. "Don't you have a heart? She's just a child. She hasn't even begun to live!"

Gently lowering Rachel's body, Berrisford stood up, his eyes blazing with anger. "I'll kill you for this!" the old man shouted as he launched himself forward, a letter-opener in his hand.

He did not think. He could not think.

Reload the gun.

Aim.

Fire.

Berrisford's bulging eyes stared at him accusingly, a dark red spot staining in white shirt in a rapidly growing circle. Then he fell lifelessly to the ground.

The gun fell onto the carpeted floor with a dull thud.

Mission accomplished, an empty voice echoed in his head as he looked at Rachel and her father.

Target eliminated.

Civilian casualty; one.

He tilted his head upwards and let out a roar of anguish.

His breath lodged in his throat, making it hard for him to breathe. Letting out a heartfelt groan, he buried his face in his hands.

He remembered everything now. He remembered how he had wandered off after that, intending to go back to Manticore for his debrief.

But he had never made it.

Instead he had carried on wandering from one town to another, frequenting bars and seedy motels. The recorder remained with him all the while as a reminder of what he had done. Berrisford's words had hit him hard.

"You monster!"

"Don't you have a heart?"

He had taken lives after lives as an assassin for Manticore. They trusted him because he had been able to carry out his orders efficiently and reliably. He had never questioned it. But the Berrisford mission had been something different.

The killings had finally gotten to him.

By the end of the first month, he had decided to disappear. He was the last person Manticore had expected to run away. He had no choice, he did not want to carry on doing what he did.

But they had found him.

Manticore had found him, dragged him back kicking and fighting. And they threw him in Psy-Ops.

The recorder fell out of his hands, dropping on the floor with a hollow sound, but he did not notice it.

He stared blankly at the wall, wondering what he was supposed to do now.

All of them, minus Jondy, Krit, Brin, Syl and Seth, were all gathered in the observation room.

Syl was doing some undercover work somewhere.

Brin was still in the infirmary, being treated for her Progeria by the ex-Manticore doctor Zack had brought back in his last mission. Jondy and Krit had remained in the doctor's place to ensure that no one, meaning Manticore, came sniffing for the elderly medical practitioner.

Seth was nowhere to be found. Max did not know for sure, but she would bet that whatever he was doing, it had something to do with Manticore.

Looking around at her siblings, Max shuffled closer to Mack, the Ordinary techie who was busy setting up the tests together with Jack. There was a hint of excitement on their faces as they observed the weapon prototype Seth and Max had brought back from the mission.

"Hey, we got all the fail-safe procedures in place, right?" Max asked worriedly as she stared through the triple layer fibre-reinforced glass.

Mack glanced up from the console with a long-suffering look on his face. "Max. If I had a dollar every time you ask that question, I won't be sitting here anymore."

Max grinned. "No. You'll be in some tropical country, sunning yourself to a burnt crisp."

Jack interjected. "Don't worry, Max. I think Unitech had learnt its lesson. One disaster is enough," he said wryly.

Tinga sat down beside him. "Yeah, all it took was the pulse, right?" she said, rolling her eyes. "Some disaster. Can't believe that something so small could cause so much damage."

"Well, it all started with good intentions," Eva added. "They made the mistake of not testing it thoroughly."

Mack swivelled around to face them. "I thought the whole thing was set up to get you all out? How did it go so wrong?"

Max frowned as she looked thoughtfully at the Ordinary in front of her. And then her expression cleared in understanding. "Oh, you didn't join until after the Pulse, right?"

Mack nodded. "Unitech recruited me a year after that."

Zack started, "Well, it was supposed to be a small electromagnetic pulse. From what Sandeman told us, the plan was to alter records to show Unit 2 was in the process of being transferred to the Seattle facility. On the day we were meant to be transferred, Unitech's troops showed up during one of our routine exercises."

"It's a good thing Lydecker was there, otherwise we would have kicked the shit out of those soldiers," Zane remarked with a grin.

Picking up from Zack, Eva continued, "Once they got us, the troops set off two sets of electromagnetic pulses. One near the Seattle base and one in Wyoming to wipe out all Manticore's record of us. There are so many transgenics so Unitech figured that in the chaos of all the missing data, no one would miss us. The immediate reaction would be that the Wyoming base would think that we've gone to Seattle and the Seattle base would think that we're still in Wyoming."

"And Lydecker stayed on for a while after that to make sure that everything went according to plan, making sure that no one got suspicious," Max added.

"But that doesn't explain why the whole state got wiped out," Mack commented with a frown.

Max looked up as Seth stepped into the room. "It was all a really bad coincidence. The technology was new at that time, and quite a few organisations were working with it. Manticore was running some test on their own version of it at that time."

"Let me guess. The magnetic waves from Unitech's devices and Manticore's devices superimposed onto each other, overlapped and grew exponentially," Mack said, a look of amazement on his face.

"Yup. That's pretty much it," Zane said with a nod.

The door suddenly opened and Seth stepped in, nodding at Jack. "I got your call."

"Glad you made it, Seth," Mack said as he tapped on a couple of buttons on the console.

Max's eyes followed Seth as he sat down near the controls. "Haven't seen you for a while, Seth," she remarked pointedly.

Without looking up, Seth replied, "I had things to do."

Probably some Manticore thing, Max thought suspiciously. In an innocent voice, she asked, "Oh? What?"

"You know better than to ask, Max," came his flat answer.

A flash of irritation coursed through her. At a sudden nudge, Max looked to her side. Zane was shaking his head at her wordlessly. Her expression tightened.

But before she could say anything, Jack interjected in a falsely bright voice, "Hey, looks like we can start now."

As everyone crowded closer to the observation screen, Max promised herself that she would get Seth to speak one way or another.

"It's all clear, 494."

Startled, Alec jumped slightly from his position of the window.

511 gave him suspicious look. "What is the matter?"

Shaking his head, Alec said levelly, "Nothing. So, it's time to move."

With a curt nod, 511 said, "Affirmative, 494."

Frustrated, Alec resisted the urge to punch the wall beside the window opening. 511 was beginning to really bug him. The man showed no signs that he was the man Alec had known as a friend. Manticore really did a number on him. And for what? 511 had been telling the truth all the while. He had answered their questions honestly.

Considering how 511 was behaving, it was clear that more than the memory of the mission had been wiped out. In the past week, he had tried to jolt 511's memories, but with no success. 511 was a shell now, merely a living and breathing Manticore soldier and nothing else. Alec did not know if that was deliberate or Psy-Ops had overdone the 'reindoctrination'.

Or perhaps 511 had resisted and made things worse for himself.

Alec glowered. If it had not been for the voice recorder, he would have known no better. He would have been in the exact shape as 511 if his own voice had not explained everything to him. Everything about Max, Seth and Unitech. He was still somewhat confused about the entire situation. Someone was lying and could only be either Renfro or Max.

And the only one who had the answer was Max.

Shortly after listening to the recording, he had brought up the surveillance records from Davies's dinner. It did not take him long to find the footage of Max leaving with her partner in a car. Half and hour of checking through the database had told him that the car was registered to Krit Guevara, an employee of Xnet Computers.

Xnet turned out to be a subsidiary of Unitech IT Development. That would be his first stop before he disappeared for good this time.

Now all he had to do was to find a way of evading 511.

"Come on, 494," 511 urged in a toneless voice.

Alec nodded, and then gestured to the opposite building. "I'll keep a watch out from here first, and then I'll follow. You go ahead first."

"And our rendezvous point?"

Keeping his expression bland, Alec said, "It might be hard to do that. Whoever finds the target first will eliminate him. We will regroup back in Manticore."

511 frowned slightly. "But…"

"This is an order, 511," Alec interjected firmly. He was going to do this whether 511 liked it or not.

He would find out what was really happening.

And then he would leave.

Max glanced up and rubbed her sore eyes. They had been at it for days, trying to figure out what was wrong with the weapon.

At the moment, the intensity of the discharge was too high. There was no way anyone could use it without killing or at least disabling everyone in a half a mile radius. Max reached over a tired Zane to grab another technical drawing.

"Guys, I think we have a problem," Jack remarked gravely.

Eva turned around, her hand suspended over the keyboard. "What?" she asked, sounding concerned.

Jack pointed to the surveillance monitor. "This is the guy who was rummaging through Max's stuff back when she was staying in that apartment."

Suddenly looking very much more awake, Zane whistled as he peered at the screen. Then he grinned and turned back to look at Max. "Hey, looks like you might have a chance after all. That boy's hunting you down. Can't say much of his taste, though."

"Shut up, Zane," Max snapped irritably as she looked over Jack's shoulders.

What was Alec doing near Unitech's compound? With him there, they were looking at a very real risk of exposure. Not to mention that if he continued to hang around their secret entrance, none of them could get their vehicles in or out. She supposed they could always utilise the back-up exit, but only on foot.

"I wonder why he's lurking about," Eva questioned, her brows furrowed in thought.

"Maybe he'll go away if we just ignore him."

Max shook her head. "I don't think so. He's looking for something."

Jack gave her a worried look. "He's looking for you?" He paused in thought for a moment before he continued, "Maybe he wants the prototype."

"It's possible. But the guy has Ivanov, so why bother?" Max muttered.

Zane stood up. "I'll go tell him to shove off."

Hurriedly, Max grabbed his arm. "No. Don't."

Suspicious at her reaction, Eva frowned at her. "What's going on, Max?"

Max looked around at the rest of her siblings, knowing that this was probably the best time to tell them about Alec's real identity.

"What, Max?" Jack asked softly, obviously noting her hesitation.

"We need to watch him carefully," she said tersely. "We have a real possibility of exposure here."

Zane raised an eyebrow at her. "The guy's just an Ordinary, Max."

Max inhaled, then exhaled loudly. "No, he's not."

"What?!"

"He's an X5."

They stared at her, stunned expression on their faces.

"Max, are you sure?"

Max rolled her eyes. "Well, he kinda admitted it."

Jack gave her a worried look. "I don't understand, Max."

Rubbing his head with both hands, Zane added, "I think you'd better explain this." Then comprehension dawned. "He found out you're an X5 when you jumped him in your heat."

With a heavy sigh, Max nodded.

Jack just stared at her thoughtfully. "It was the day when you went missing and activated the emergency beacon, right?"

Max nodded again.

"I don't understand. The guy just took it like that? No questions about where you came from and all? It's not like there are X5s running free all over Seattle," Zane remarked, obviously confused.

"Seth told him that I'm 453, who happens to be my twin in Manticore," Max explained.

"Twin," Eva repeated slowly, trying to absorb the information. Then she frowned. "Seth told him? Why should he believe Seth?"

"Apparently, Alec knows Seth as 354."

"But Seth is…" Zane's voice trailed off. For once, the usually talkative guy was stumped.

"353. Yes, I know! 354 is Seth's twin," Max threw her hands up in exasperation. "Look, I'm just as confused about Seth as all of you. All I know is that Seth seems to be somehow involved with Manticore. So why don't you ask him?"

Zane snorted. "I don't know about you, but have you realised how difficult it is to talk to the guy nowadays?"

Eva frowned. "He's been preoccupied lately."

"That's an understatement, Eva," Max muttered.

Since she had started it, Max decided that might as well go the whole way. After all, the rest of them had the right to know. "That's not all."

"There's more?" Zane asked incredulously.

She took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Yeah. Alec's designation in 494."

Their eyes widened in comprehension.

"As in Ben's twin," Jack guessed quietly.

"We need to get Seth to talk," Eva said thoughtfully.

Max rolled her eyes. "Good luck with that. I've tried, but he's not talking."

Zane glanced at her. "What kind of girlfriend are you if you couldn't get him to listen?"

Rolling her eyes, Max muttered, "Not sure if that's still the case."

Eva sighed. "Well, right now, I think our main concern is how we're supposed to deal with this guy."

"Before he finds out that there are a number of X5s running free."

Pushing her chair back, Eva stood up and said, "Jack, keep a close watch on the X5. Max and Zane, you two find Seth and Zack. I'll track down Tinga and get Lydecker online. We need to have a meeting."

How long was he going to have to stand there before they got suspicious, Alec thought irritably.

He had scoped out the area yesterday, after he had made sure that 511 had emerged safe from the building. He had spotted Seth in the distance as the guy turned into an alleyway. Unfortunately, when Alec caught up, there had been no sign of Seth, much to his annoyance. A search of the area gave him no clue as to where had Seth disappeared to. Alec concluded that there must be some sort of secret entrance hidden nearby.

Having spent the best part of today pacing out in the road near the alleyway, hoping to catch a glimpse of Max or Seth so that he could follow them, he was now changing his plan of action. Now, all he was trying to do was to make himself visible. Considering what he had seen so far, he was sure that Unitech had some sort of surveillance in place. He found it hard to believe that they would just ignore someone who was acting so suspiciously right outside their entrance.

It took him another half a day before he felt the rising of the fine hair at the back of his neck. That was a sure sign that he was being watched.

Finally, he thought in satisfaction.

Turning around slowly, he came face to face with two men he did not recognise. The two of them were staring at him without any expression on their faces, reminding him eerily of the typical Manticore soldiers.

Alec suddenly felt a twinge of doubt. What if this was all a mistake? He had been away from Manticore for two days longer than he should. What if all he had succeeded in doing was to alert Manticore to his detour by hanging out there in full view?

The two men stepped towards him.

Fine, Alec decided resolutely. This was no time to be deliberating. All he had to do was to engage them in a fight to know if they were X5s or someone else.

He immediately sprung into action, launching himself at them. For a split moment, he saw their eyes widen in surprise. They dodged to the side quickly, avoiding his attack.

The blonde one came at him. Alec turned and swung his leg up in an arc, almost catching the guy in the face, but the guy raised his arm just in time to deflect the blow. The blonde retaliated by throwing a rapid series of jabs. As Alec blocked them, he realised with dismay that the hits were coming too fast for an Ordinary.

Manticore had found him.

Again.

He spun around to deliver a backhand, but before he found his target, Alec felt something pierce his back.

His eyes widened in realisation as a feeling of wooziness came over him.

Tranquilizers.

They hit him with a tranquilizer dart.

His last thought before he succumbed to the darkness was that he did not have the foresight to record a reminder this time round.

t.b.c.

A/N: Thanks for reading. Please take a minute to review this chapter. The story is feeling a little unloved after the drop in reviews for the last chapter. :P